Mark Lawn today told City fans expecting a TV cash bonanza: Forget it.

The club will be on Sky again next week for the JPT first-round clash with Sheffield Wednesday.

It is their second appearance on live television in the opening month of the season but Lawn stressed that does not mean the coffers are suddenly bulging.

City will get a £10,000 fee for staging Tuesday’s match – and the joint-chairman calculated that will merely make up for the loss of revenue from fans choosing to watch it at home.

And he also revealed that the estimated £100,000 they pocketed for the Carling Cup derby with Leeds has already gone.

He said: “That money was spent before we even played the game. We used it as soon as the draw was made and we were told it would be on TV.

“We immediately upped the manager’s (playing) budget by £100,000, so that’s gone.

“It’s the same with the Johnstone’s Paint game next week. People see that we’re on telly again and think we’re going to be rolling in it but that’s not the case.

“The money we’ll get from TV will barely cover what we’re going to lose out on in gate receipts because you can watch it at home or in the pub.”

City’s search for a more experienced striker in time for Barnet’s visit on Saturday has so far drawn a blank. But they still have targets in mind.

They will soon be due a payment from Manchester United as part of the on-going deal with midfielder Tom Cleverley. They are entitled to a cash sum after ten league appearances for the champions.

Lawn added: “Once again we are having to use money from other income streams with things like Cleverley and looking to sell youngsters on to clubs.”